Photographic Record

Photographing Your Existing Garden

Sometimes it can be useful to photograph your existing garden in order to have the information that you need on your desk while you are working. This exercise will also act as a record of your garden before you commenced operations. It can be useful if you need to backtrack for any reason and it definitely helps you to measure your progress visually against where you started.

You should take as many photographs as possible from strategic angles. Try to ensure that you photograph all the elements contained in the space from at least two vantage points. This will, in conjunction with your survey drawing, help you to locate everything as you complete your survey.

You should also take as many opportunities as possible to stand in one strategic spot and photograph all around you. This will give you a comprehensive view of the site & will eliminate the need to go out in the winter rain while you are designing your summer garden. Try to choose positions for this exercise that allows as comprehensive a view as possible, and again, overlapping views can be useful here.

One of the pitfalls to avoid here is a tendency to get too involved in taking photographs. If you finding yourself spending too much time on this part of the process simply move on. If you do need to go outdoors now and again to check something, that’s alright.

Feel free to e-mail me some of your photographs, especially if you need a quick answer to a design problem.